Failed union votes not deterring pizza drivers

Dec. 21, 2004

Ann Arbor News: The Association of Pizza Delivery Drivers is planning a unionization vote in Michigan at a Pizza Hut and has at least two more votes in the region in the works.

The association has been leading an effort to unionize pizza delivery drivers, fostering votes at a Domino's Pizza franchise in Nebraska and a Pizza Hut in Ohio in late November. Both votes failed, but the group's leadership said it is pressing on and has been buoyed by additions to its national membership since news of the efforts became public.

"We are not sitting around crying" about the losses, said Tim Lockwood, treasurer of the Hendersonville, Tenn.-based association.

Union leaders want drivers to receive more safety training, more standardized reimbursement for deliveries and better wages. The association increased its roles from about 600 to 700 in the two weeks following news of its first vote on Nov. 16.